Project Stargaze by Roos Groothuizen and Derk Over
Project Stargaze
A Hybrid game by Roos Groothuizen and Derk Over
We are on the verge of a new evolutionary step – our transition into the hybrid human. This new body will be fully adapted to living simultaneously online and offline. For now, everything still feels uncomfortable and we are still getting used to having a digital presence alongside our physical one. Play the Project Stargaze game and experience the evolutionary process that lies ahead of us by providing a series of challenges for your physical and digital consciousness.
In this multi-team party game, you will pair up to help design the society of the future. One player in each pair will be physically present in the space while the other is online, connected to the game through a video call. Together, you will form a single hybrid body that ‘physically’ connects the online and offline player. How will you cooperate with your partner and the other duos to tackle the challenges of this new society?
Project Stargaze is a hybrid party game experience created by Roos Groothuizen and Derk Over commissioned by IMPAKT. This commission (and The Great Idle by Benjamin Pompe) were funded by the province of Utrecht through its Talented Makers Support Package (Presentatieregeling talentvolle makers).
In this hybrid game, they invite players to explore how the human body is developing in response to our increased use of technology. Players need to team up in pairs: one is physically present (in the first iteration, at the IMPAKT Centre in Utrecht) while the other joins online via a Zoom video call. The aim of the game is to cooperate in a series of tasks, and merge the physical ‘body’ with the online ‘mind’. In doing so, the players experienced the single hybrid body of the future.
When people arrive to play the game they see the IMPAKT exhibition center, transformed by geometric patterns marking the floors and walls in various tape colors. These marked the areas for each activity the player pairs would have to undertake. But first, each pair must calibrate their connection: the physical player connects to the online player via video chat on their phone, places their phone in a mount on a belt strap, and then attaches the belt strap around their hips with the active video call facing out from their buttocks. This way, the online player sees only what is directly behind the offline player. The ‘brain’ and ‘body’ communicate via headphones and the video call. The calibration exercise asks that the online player guides the offline player backwards along an irregular zig-zag by giving them verbal instructions.
Following the calibration exercise, the four pairs of players are asked to work together in a series of games such as charades and building tower blocks, but all done in their newly formed body-brain configuration.
Make it Participatory
Every participant, whether online or on-site, is a player in the game. Although the hybrid aspect of the game will be new to many players, many of the games are familiar favourites where the rules are straight-forward. The hosts of the game have to spend very little time explaining the rules before everyone can get into playing the games.
The aim of the game is on merging the digital consciousness with the physical body– but ultimately it is a playful immersive experience. The introductory video sequence that plays before the games begin sets the stage by drawing on digital culture mythology and aesthetics. However, the explanations and instructions are clearly communicated and straight-forward.
During the initial calibration step, the 'physical bodies' attach the mobile phones connected to the 'digital brains' onto their buttocks. From the very start of the game, everyone has to let their guard down and be open to feeling a bit silly. It immediately creates a playful mood, where even though the points don't really matter (everyone gets a certificate marking their graduation into the next evolutionary step of humanity) but people still play to win.
Cultivate Collectivity
The focus of the game is on teamwork (within the pair) and collaboration (with the other teams). The initial calibration stage creates a moment when all the players synchronise with each other and sets the stage for the games. It is ceremonial, as well as practical, and creates a new physical awareness for all the players involved to get used to the tools and rules of the game.
While the limited on-site presence of the online participants is usually a drawback of many hybrid situations, here, the withdrawn position of the 'digital brains' is made a central component of the game. The 'physical bodies' are the only ones able to connect to their own 'digital brain' (via their headphones). The limitations of these interactions delegates the responsibility of communicating the needs and technical issues the digital brains face to their physical bodies. In short, the hybrid dynamic creates a buddy system that ensures that all the players are actively represented and equally involved.